Believe it or not, I am not making these up:

arsole (fittingly the molecule, involving arsenic, is in the shape of a ring)
cummingtonite (mineral first found in Cummington, Massachusetts, USA)
putrescine, cadaverine (related; found in cadavers. Semen includes these and two other relatives: spermine; spermidine)
dickite (eponymous mineral); moronic acid; bastardane
fukalite (mineral from the Fuka region of southern Japan)
traumatic acid (plant hormone involved in wound-healing)

And my personal favorite:
fucitol: an alcohol derived from the sugar fucose, which comes from a seaweed whose latin name is Fucus vesiculosis. Apparently several articles, about a kinase enzyme which acts on fucose, were authored by Japanese scientists -- and until 1997 no one noticed the problem arising when "fucose kinase" is abbreviated as 'fuc-K'.

More to come.

My students always had fun with the "schisto-" words (meaning split or cleft) and the "Shiotz" tonometer, which measures intraocular pressure.

Now, this isn't scientific, but a roommate of mine received a license plate from the Illinois Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that was "FK" + some number that I have forgotten. At first, she was mortified and was going to ask for it to be changed. However, it brought many comments from people and became a conversational piece. So, she planned to keep it. However, when she got new plates, the DMV finally figured out their error and changed it themselves.

quote:

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Originally posted by Hic et ubique:
...abbreviated as 'fuc-K'.

More to come.

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Oookay.

Tinman

I always liked sodamide and phthallic acid (silent th. especially if you are remotely estuarine). The others all sound familiar. Are they from a molecules with silly names web-site?

I am more of a physical chemist and it still amuses me to tell my students of Ring Strain and Backside Attack.

Erotic Acid: Not an aphrodisiac; it is vitamin B13. Its correct name is orotic acid, but it has been misspelt so often in the chemical literature that it is also known as erotic acid! Apparently, if you add another carbon to it, it becomes homo-erotic acid.
Someone had a sense of humor in naming draculin, which is the anticoagulant factor in vampire bat saliva.
Sexithiophene is a 'sexi' molecule - which means it has 6 sub-units, in this case of thiophene rings. Incidentally, the Latin for 5 sub-units is quinque (pronounced 'kinky'), so by adding one subunit a quinque molecule becomes sexi.
Fukiic Acid: Fuki is the Japanese word for the butterbur flower (Petasites japonicus), from which fukiic acid is the hydrolysis product. Further oxidation produces fukinolic acid.
Diabolic acids are a class of compounds named after the Greek diabollo, meaning to mislead, since they were particularly difficult to isolate using standard gas chromatography techniques.
Kunzite: a pink () gemstone, named after the gemologist G.F. Kunz who described it in 1902. Alternate name: spodumene.

Incidentally, Graham, my list says this about your item:
phthalic acid: often pronounced with a silent 'th' for comic effect. I wonder if phthalyl side-groups have a shorthand symbol in chemical structures, in the same way that phenyl groups are shortened to -Ph? If so, would it be a 'phthalic symbol'? Again, adding an extra carbon makes homo-phthalic acid.

[This message was edited by Hic et ubique on Mon Jun 16th, 2003 at 7:32.]

quote:

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Originally posted by Graham Nice:
I always liked sodamide and phthallic acid (silent th. especially if you are remotely estuarine).

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Actually, the ph is silent and the th is pronounced, at least here in the States.

Tinman

[This message was edited by tinman on Tue Jun 17th, 2003 at 3:03.]

Not rude, but aminals always caused a giggle in lectures...

I think I've visited the website these came from - if so, there's lots more!

Ros